Merchandising stand for bags



July 6, 1954 c, p, P|KE 2,682,956

MERCHANDISING STAND FOR BAGS Filed OCt. 22, 1949 FIG. 5

INVENTOR.

- CHARLES R PIKE Patented July 6, 1954 MERCHANDISING STAND FOR BAGS Charles P. Pike, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Dan Dee Pretzel & Potato Chip Company, a

corporation of Ohio Application October 22, 1949, Serial No. 123,035

The invention relates in general, to supporting structures for displaying merchandise, and more particularly to supporting structures for supporting merchandising bags constructed of puncturable material with each bag having an opening extending through the top edge thereof for suspending the bags upon the rack.

An object of the invention is the provision of a merchandising rack having hooks thereon from which the merchandising bags may be supported, the construction of the hooks being such that they present a heel whereby a bag may rest upon a heel located on a hook below the hook upon which the bag is suspended, instead of restin against the terminating end of the hook which is apt to puncture the bag.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a merchandising supporting stand or rack having a plurality of hooks upon which the bags may be suspended, taken in combination with means to steady the bags on the hooks to keep the bags from twisting about with too much freedom.

Another object is the provision of a merchanl dising stand made up of a plurality of crossconnected members, taken in combination with hook members fastened to the stand at said cross-connections.

Another object is the provision of a merchandising stand constructed of cross-connected members whereby the ends of the cross-members are provided with hooks upon which themerchandising bags may be suspended.

Another obj ect of the invention is the provision of a stand upon which merchandising bags may be suspended and which the stand is of such a design as not to puncture the bags in the event that the bags are crushed against the stand.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the 3 Claims. (01. 211-71) top edge thereof which may be suspended from the hooks on the merchandising rack.

The merchandising rack comprises generally a base It] and an upright support construction indicated generally by the reference character H. The base It] and the upright support construction Il may be constructed of any suitable elongated material and preferably they are confollowing description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective side elevational view of a. merchandising stand embodying the features of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the merchandising stand shown in Figure 1 and illustrates the disposition of merchandising bags suspended thereon;

Figure 3 is a side view of a hook upon which the merchandise is suspended;

Figure 4 is a side view of a modified form of a hook; and

Figure 5 is a view of a bag having a hole at the structed of bendable wire of circular cross-section. However, it is to be understood that the merchandising rack may be constructed of any other suitable form of material other than of bendable wire. in the form of a closed loop upon which the upright support construction II may be connected.

The upright support construction I l comprises generally an outer frame member l2 having two vertical side members It and a top cross member hi. The lower ends of the two vertical side members 13 may be connected to the base by any suitable means such as, by soldering. Spaced upwardly from the base and horizontally interconnecting the two sides of the vertical member I3, is a, bottom cross member l5. Extending vertically between the bottom cross-member l5 and the top cross-member I l are two upright support members it upon which a plurality of hooks H are mounted at spaced points having intervals therebetween less than the length of the bags. Extending horizontally crosswise of the upright support construction are a plurality of intermediate cross-members I8 which are connected to the upright support members l6 and making a cross connection 25 at the points where the hooks I! are connected to the upright support member l6. Vertically spaced between the two upright support members it are two stabilizing members 28. All the members where they cross each other are connected together by any suitable means, such as for example, by soldering.

The hooks H each have a rearwardly extending side It and a forwardly extending side 20, the two sides being identical in construction. As

illustrated, each side of the hook comprises a first portion 2| extending laterally from the upright support members It and a second portion 22 extending generally upwardly and having a termi- -nating end 24 located at a level above that of the first portion. The first and second portions 2! and 22 are integrally joined and defining a tuneture presenting a heel 23. The heel 2 3 is spaced further from the upright support member 1 6 than the terminating end 24 whereby the side of the bags 26, such as illustrated in Figure 2, rests As illustrated, the base may be' against the heel instead of against the terminating end which is apt to puncture the bag in the event that the bag is accidentally or otherwise crushed against the hooks. A front view of the merchandising bag 26 is shown in Figure 5 and is provided with a hole 2'! in the top edge thereof. The cross-sectional area of the hook members are less than the size of the opening in the top of the bags whereby the bags may be hooked thereon with the side of the bag resting against a hook member located below the hook member on which the bag is suspended. The first portion 2| of the hooks also extend upwardly as it extends away from the upright support member Hi so that there is a tendency for the bags as they are suspended on the hooks, to slide down along the first portion toward the upright support member I6. In the preferred construction, the first portion 2| makes an elevated angle with the horizontal of approximately 30. The inclined angle between the first portion 2| and the second portion 22 of the hook is preferably in the neighborhood of 90 or less whereby the second portion 22 inclines inwardly at an angle of approximately 30 to the vertical. ihus, the heel 23 extends further outwardly from the upright support member l6 than the terminating end 24 whereby the side of the bags rest against the heel 23 instead of against the terminating ends 24 which would be apt to puncture the bags. From Figure 3, it will be observed a bag body suspended from each hook I! hangs with its body engaging the next adjacent lower hook I? and overlaps the bag body suspended from said next adjacent lower hook member thereby causing successive overlapping of the bag bodies from the top to the bottom of the rack to achieve maximum multiple display of a said series of bags within a limited vertical space. It will also be observed that the portion 2| of each hook is longer than the second portion 22 whereby a plurality of bag bodies may be received upon each hook, in which case the innermost bag body on each hook, will engage the next adjacent lower hook and overlap the bag bodies suspended from such next adjacent lower hook.

The horizontal cross members will engage across the backs of the upper ends of the bags and operate as stabilizing members to keep the bags from twisting about as they are suspended on the hooks. In other words, the top ends of the bags are prevented from being twisted about with too much freedom since the backs of the bags will rest against the stabilizing cross member Is to steady the bags upon the hooks. The vertical side members l3 and the intermediate upright members 23 will also cooperate in keeping the bags from twisting about on the hooks.

The ends of the intermediate cross-members I8 terminate in side hooks 29 and they are of the same construction and have the same reference characters as the hooks H. The second portion 22 of the side hooks in Figure 1 appear to be sub- ;tantially vertical because the drawing is a perspective view, but these second portions make a leaning angle of approximately 30 with the vertical the same as the second portions 22 shown on the hooks in Figure 2. The heel 23 on the side hooks extends further away from the vertical side member l3 than the terminating ends 24 whereby bags suspended on the side hooks may rest against the heel of a hook disposed therebelow instead of resting against the terminating end 24 which would be apt to puncture the bag. The bags which are suspended on the side hooks 29 are stabilized from swinging freely since they may rest against the sides of the bags which are suspended on the hooks H.

In Figure 4, a modified hook 32 is shown, and instead of having a straight first portion 2| and a straight second portion 22, the two portions 2| and 22 are generally arcuate and present a heel 23 the same as that shown for the hook in Figure 3. The hook in Figure 4, may be interchangeably used instead of the hook in Figure 3. The two types of hooks operate in substantially the same manner.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. A rack for suspending a series of bag bodies of puncturable material, each having an opening extending through a top edge thereof, said rack comprising upright supporting means, a plurality of book members connected to said supporting means at spaced points with vertical intervals therebetween less than the length of each bag body whereby a bag body suspended from each hock member hangs with its body engaging the next adjacent lower hook member and overlaps the bag body suspended from next lower adjacent hook member thereby causing successive overlapping of said bag bodies from the top to the bottom of said series to achieve maximum multiple display of said series of bags within a limited vertical space, said hook members each comprising an elongated first portion extending upwardly and laterally to said supporting means and a second portion extending generally upwardly and inwardly toward said supporting means and having a terminal end extending toward said supporting means and located at a level above that of said first portion, said first portion being about twice the length of said second portion to receive a plurality of said bag bodies and whereby the terminal end of said second portion is spaced laterally of said supporting means sufficiently to have a plurality of bag bodies hooked thereon, said first and second portions being integrally joined and defining a juncture presenting a non puncturing blunt heel, said blunt heel being spaced further from said supporting means than said terminal end whereby the body of the innermost bag bodysuspended from the next adjacent hook member above rests against said blunt heel instead of against the terminal end of said hook,

which would puncture said bag body.

2. A rack for suspending bag bodies constructed of puncturable material each having an opening extending through the top edge thereof, said rack comprising upright supporting means, a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal cross members extending across said upright member and secured thereto at spaced vertical distances to form a plurality of cross connections spaced apart at vertical intervals therebetween less than the length of a bag body, a plurality of wire hooks each comprising a single length of wire bent between its ends to form a pair of arms converging downwardly to form an intermediate attaching portion secured to each of said cross-connections to provide one arm extending beyond the rear vertical plane of said upright member and a second arm extending beyond the front vertical plane of said upright member, each arm of each hook having a first portion extending upwardly and laterally to said upright support member and a second portion extending upwardly and inwardly at an angle towards said upright support member to provide a terminal end located at a level above that of said first portion and to provide a juncture between said first and second portions presenting a nonpuncturing blunt heel spaced further from said upright supporting member than said terminal end whereby the body of the bag suspended from the hook above rests against said blunt heel and against an adjacent horizontal cross member toprevent twisting of the bags about their suspension hooks.

3. A rack for suspending bag bodies constructed of puncturable material each having an opening extending through the top edge thereof, said rack comprising a pair of upright side frame members and intermediate upright support member, a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal cross members extending across all of said upright members and secured thereto at spaced vertical distances to form a plurality of cross-connections spaced apart at vertical intervals therebetween less than the length of a bag body, and having their opposite ends extending laterally beyond said upright side frame members, a plurality of wire hooks each comprising a single length of wire bent between its ends to form a pair of arms converging downwardly to form an intermediate attaching portion secured to each of said cross-connections to provide one arm extending beyond the rear vertical, plane of said intermediate upright member and a second arm extending beyond the front vertical plane of said intermediate upright member, each arm of each hook having a first portion extending upwardly and laterally to said upright support member and a second portion extending upwardly and inwardly towards said upright support member to provide a terminal end located at a level above that of said first portion and toprovide a juncture between said first and second portions presenting a nonpuncturing blunt heel spaced further from said upright supporting member than said terminal end whereby the body of the bag suspended from the hook above rests against said blunt heel and against an adjacent horizontal cross member to prevent twisting of the bags about their suspension hooks, and said ends of said horizontal cross members each having a hook provided with first and second portions similar to the aforesaid arms to provide nonpuncturing blunt heels arranged for the purposes stated above and whereby the bags suspended on said hooks of said horizontal cross members will be prevented from twisting upon their hooks by their engagement with the sides of the bags suspended from said first-named hooks of said uprights.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 103,079 Jordheim Feb. 2, 1937 D. 106,230 Fawcett Sept. 28, 1937 ID. 159,217 Lydick July 4, 1950 235,103 Sherman Dec. 7, 1880 520,214 Naumann May 22, 1894 628,784 Firtzgerald July 11, 1899 1,095,006 Lowe Apr. 28, 1914 1,280,567 Seibring Oct. 1, 1918 1,306,297 Auerochs June 10, 1919 2,116,631 Jones May 10, 1938 2,286,831 Ressinger June 16, 1942 

